


But Names Will Never Hurt Me

by Mangaluva



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Friends bring friends tacos at midnight, Gen, Jade/Roy mentioned, Oliver and Dick get shit on a bit, Past Drug Use, Psychological Trauma, but that's to do with how the characters feel about them not the writer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-06 08:55:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11597286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mangaluva/pseuds/Mangaluva
Summary: Arsenal peered cautiously through the peephole on the door, and would never admit to anyone how much it calmed him to see his own face staring back.





	But Names Will Never Hurt Me

**Author's Note:**

> I am SUPER fucking excited about the Young Justice: Outsiders revelations at SDCC this weekend. NEW LOOKS. NEW CHARACTERS. STEPHANIE BROWN’S ON THE TEAM, MOTHERFUCKERS! I’m so happy, she’s my favourite Batgirl. I don’t know much about Arrowette or 13, but I hear 13’s a lesbian so I like her already. And what’s with Dick, Artemis and Conner’s new all-black outfits? Why is Black Lightning in the lineup with them? Where are Batgirl, Zatanna, Bumblebee and Guardian? Why does Robin have a hood now? Is that still Tim or is it Damian? THEY’VE ALREADY RECORDED TEN EPISODES, I’M SO GODDAMN EXCITED  
> Anyway, I decided to post something to celebrate and scream excitedly. I originally wrote this with the vague idea of it being in the same universe as my other fic A Better Cage, but truthfully there’s nothing in this that requires you to read ABC to understand it. There’s the reference to Wally being back, but let’s be real, that’s been the plot of, like, half of the Young Justice fics written since the end of season two…
> 
> Anyway, I’m also glad to see Arsenal apparently in the main Team lineup because that boy has some issues that were never really worked out in the show and I’d like to see them explore the relationship between him and Red Arrow a little more. We don’t see them interact in the show after Arsenal gets his new arm from Luthor, but I am personally pretty fond of the idea that Red Arrow is one of the few people that Arsenal really gets along with. I also feel like, given the years of his life that Red Arrow spent dedicatedly searching for the original Roy Harper, he’d still care a lot about how Arsenal’s doing… and be good at finding him :P

Arsenal awoke from his nightmare shivering with cold, gasping for air, and his arm already armed and sighting on the burned holes in the far wall. 

 

He grabbed his right arm with his left, forcibly deactivating the laser as he fought to control his breathing. He stared out of the window, focusing on the moon. The lights of the city made the stars impossible to see, but the moon was enough.

 

_ I’m outside. I’m free. Nothing is holding me down or trapping me. _

 

The knocking on his door made him jump, swinging his arm cannon up before it registered that if somebody was here to attack him, they probably wouldn’t be knocking on the door. He crept towards the door with his back to the wall and one eye on the window anyway. Leaving the curtains open was  _ stupid,  _ he knew, but when he had a nightmare he  _ needed _ to be able to see outside.

 

He peered cautiously through the peephole on the door, and would never admit to anyone how much it calmed him to see his own face staring back. 

 

He unlatched the door, deactivated a few other security measures, and opened the door to… the other Roy Harper. The clone. Red Arrow The guy who had somehow found out where the  _ hell _ Arsenal was living and was… standing in front of his door with groceries?

 

“Hi… Roy,” the clone said awkwardly. “Sorry, did I wake you up?”

 

“I’m okay with that,” Arsenal said, folding his arms and leaning against the doorframe. “What’re you doing here? How’d you find me?”

 

“Seemed like you were getting along pretty well with the kids the Reach experimented on, and two of them live here in El Paso, so it was kinda just a matter of thinking about where  _ I’d _ go to keep my head down,” the clone said with a smirk. “Doesn’t take the World’s Greatest Detective, thank fucking god.”

 

“Good, because if I turn around and Batman’s in my apartment, I’m shooting both of you,” Arsenal said, looking over his shoulder  _ just in case _ . “Besides, if finding people makes you the World’s Greatest Detective, I figure that’s you, not him.” He pointed at the two large plastic shopping bags the other Roy was toting. “So what’s in the bag?”

 

“Microwaveable tupperware full of your favourite food. I dunno, I wanted to see how you were doing and bringing food seemed like a good idea.”

 

“You can come inside,” Arsenal decided, stepping back to let him in before closing the door and reactivating all the security. He turned back to see the other Roy watching him with an eyebrow raised, but the older-looking guy made no comment, just turned to scan the rest of the bare apartment. The door to the bedroom that Arsenal’d repurposed into an armoury was closed, so all there really was to see was the cramped bathroom, the kitchen covered in takeout boxes, and the mattress, blanket and pillow under the window. 

 

“I was gonna ask where I should put these, but I get the feeling the fridge is the one place you’ve got plenty of space,” the other Roy said, opening the fridge and starting to pile boxes into it. “I’m not judging. I hate cooking too. I’m just trying to get in the habit of it anyway because Jade isn’t a fan either but it’s not like we can feed Lian on takeout."

 

“Yeah…” Arsenal said, starting to pile up empty boxes by the already-overflowing bin anyway. “Uh… how is she? Lian? And Jade, I guess. Your family.” It was  _ weird _ , to ask about his clone’s wife and daughter, but at least they’d never been  _ his _ family. 

 

He preferred not to think about whether or not they would’ve been.

 

“Lian’s first birthday’s in a couple weeks,” the other Roy said, his smirk turning into a much more genuine smile. “We’re spending it with Jade’s mom. Artemis’ll probably be there too--you met her?”

 

“I’ve heard  _ of _ her,” Arsenal hedged. He’d seen her memorial, when she’d been faking her death, and learned that she’d been Green Arrow’s sidekick for a while, after the other Roy became Red Arrow. She’d also been going out with  _ Kid Flash _ , which he couldn’t really wrap his head around, because the last time he’d seen the guy up until the world nearly ended, Wally West had been a scrawny, newly-empowered eleven-year-old zipping around after The Flash and trading dumb jokes with Robin, the only superhero even smaller and younger than him.

 

Though there was a new Kid Flash now who was even  _ smaller _ . And a new Robin, too. Trying to keep it all made his head spin and made his thoughts swing dangerously close to that void where his life ended and something else began--

 

He blinked as Red Arrow snapped his fingers in front of Arsenal’s face several times. “Are you okay?” Red Arrow asked. “You kinda zoned out there.”

 

“I’m  _ fine _ ,” Arsenal snapped, throwing a pizza box at the pile by the bin and knocking the whole thing over. 

 

“Sure,” Red Arrow said, visibly unconvinced. After a long, awkward moment, he continued, “uh… so. Lian. Trying to teach her not to throw her toys, but I think Jade’s been encouraging her throwing arm. If she’s just throwing her soft toys, it’s not so bad, but she’s also toddling now. She gets into  _ everything _ , and Jade’s pretty insistent on keeping  _ some _ of her weapons in the house, even if she’s out of the business, just in case… we actually moved to Bludhaven because it’s  _ just _ close enough to Gotham that the League of Assassins gets leery of starting shit there…”

 

Arsenal leaned on the counter, listening to Red Arrow talk about Jade’s etsy store of hand-carved and painted masks, Lian’s ever-expanding vocabulary of English, Vietnamese, French and Navajo, and Red Arrow’s regular job at a security firm. None of it was about superheroes or supervillains, and none of it was about anybody Arsenal used to know and didn’t anymore. It was so  _ normal. _

 

“Oh, yeah… here’s our address,” Red Arrow said after they’d finished packing trash into the now-empty plastic bags. He grabbed an unused paper napkin and a stray pen to write the address and a couple of phone numbers down. “I’m sure you’re doing fine on our own and all, but if you ever  _ do _ need anything… call or something, okay?”

 

“Sure,” Arsenal said, pinning the address to the fridge with a magnet from one of his favourite takeout chains. 

 

“I mean it,” Red Arrow said, pointing a finger at him threateningly. 

 

“So do I,” Arsenal said, putting his hands on his hips. “I appreciate the free food and all, but don’t start randomly turning up all the time because you’re worried about me or shit like that, got it? I’ve already had to move twice because I’ve spotted Ollie stalking me.”

 

“Ollie needs to learn to back to hell off,” Red Arrow muttered indignantly. “If he finds you here, he didn’t hear it from me, trust me.”

 

“I do,” Arsenal admitted. “Trust you, I mean.”

 

“...Thanks,” Red Arrow said, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets and hunching his shoulders. It was an old habit of theirs that Red Arrow had done so much when Arsenal had seen his clone at the hospital that Arsenal had avoided getting clothes with pockets ( _ normal _ pockets--vigilante wear needed all the pockets and pouches he could get) so he’d stop doing it himself. “Sorry if it’s… weird or anything. Y’know. Me.”

 

“Not your fault,” Arsenal said with a quick shrug. “You didn’t ask to be made or programmed or anything, and, you were the only one who actually  _ found _ me instead of giving me up for dead. I can deal with any weirdness.”

 

“They shouldn’t’ve given up on you when they didn’t  _ know _ you were dead,” Red Arrow growled. “Besides, it’s not like anybody  _ stays _ dead around here. Artemis is back, Wally’s back... next thing you know, Tula and Jason are gonna come waltzing through the door.”

 

“Aquagirl and Robin, right?” Arsenal guessed, remembering some of the other memorial holograms. “How many Robins have there  _ been _ ?”

 

“We’re on number three just now,” Red Arrow said, holding up the corresponding number of figures. 

 

“ _ That’s _ what’s weird,” Arsenal admitted. “You… I mean, you’re older than me, so when I look at you you kinda look like… I dunno, if I’d found out I have a long-lost big brother or something. Not like how I’ve ever looked. Not like  _ me.  _ You’re just… this other guy. And the Robin and Kid Flash and everybody I knew, they’re other people too, people I don’t know. Ollie’s still an asshole, though,” he added, “just with stupider hair.”

 

“Yeah, but Dinah likes the goatee, so I don’t think it’s going anywhere,” Red Arrow said, shrugging again. “I’m sorry. It’s not your fault either, but you had your whole life stolen anyway. By me.”

 

“By Luthor,” Arsenal corrected him. “You’re living your  _ own _ life, and it doesn’t sound like it sucks, so good for you.”

 

“Stil,” Red Arrow argued, “it feels like it’s my fault you can’t have your life back.”

 

“Well, deal with it, because it’s not,” Arsenal snapped. “I was gone for seven years. I wouldn’t have my life back even if you weren’t here, and if it weren’t for you I wouldn’t have  _ any _ life, so how about you stop wasting time feeling guilty about something that wasn’t your fucking fault? Because your guilt trip is pretty high on the list of shit I am  _ not _ gonna put up with.”

 

Red Arrow opened his mouth, then closed it, visibly taking a moment to mentally redirect around Arsenal’s sudden anger. “So what’s your new life gonna be?” he eventually asked. “Can’t be all pissing off Lex Luthor. What do you wanna do?”

 

“Piss off Lex Luthor,” Arsenal said promptly. “Beyond that? Hell if I know, honestly.” When he was a kid, he’d wanted to be a professional archer. Becoming Green Arrow’s sidekick hadn’t really been the plan, but he’d had the time of his life, being a hero. None of that seemed on the table for him now, though. He was too young for League membership-- _ not that I  _ want _ to be in the League _ , he told himself,  _ and I don’t care that Dick kicked me off the Team. I’m my own vigilante. Nobody tells me what to do or how to do it. Nobody  _ controls _ me.  _

 

“Well, you know… you’re fifteen,” Red Arrow pointed out with a smirk. “You should probably be in school or something.”

 

“Fuck off,” Arsenal snorted, surprised by the urge to laugh. Red Arrow  _ had _ to know what Arsenal had wanted to be when he was a kid, the same way he knew what his favourite dishes were even though they'd never talked about food. All of those memories had been implanted in him. But he also seemed to understand, without saying anything, that Arsenal couldn’t stomach the thought of trying to piece scraps of his old life back together. His life, and the person he’d been, were both out of his reach forever, and he just wanted to move on from that. He didn’t want to be an archer, he didn’t want to be a sidekick, he didn’t want to be Speedy or Roy Harper.

 

“Right now, I’m trying to pick a new name, actually,” he commented.

 

“Really? Arsenal seems to be working for you,” Red Arrow said in surprise.

 

“No, I’m keeping that,” Arsenal said. “I mean… the world’s already got a Roy Harper.” Red Arrow stiffened. “Look, can you just fucking get the fact that I don’t hate you? It might’ve been my name first but I think you could’ve done a worse job with it. You’ve got friends and family and shit and they’re  _ yours _ , not mine. But all this ‘real Roy’ and ‘clone Roy’ and ‘other Roy’ and shit like that are just really fucking annoying, and if I ever  _ do _ wanna, I dunno, get a driver’s license or shit like that, I need a name to put on it, right? The name on my lease just now is William Tell--no, seriously,” he said, unable to help a grin as Red Arrow burst out laughing. “I was paying cash in hand for a no-questions-asked kinda lease, and I wanted to test it a little. Dude didn’t even flinch. Don’t think he even read it. But obviously I’m not gonna stick with that.”

 

“You could go with William Harper, if you don’t mind William, which I’m pretty sure you don’t,” Roy offered. “I’ve got some connections that could get you the paperwork you need to become Will Harper.”

 

“Will? Actually, I kinda like that,” Arsenal said thoughtfully. He grinned. “Will Harper, Arsenal. Yeah, I like it.”

 

“Thought you might,” Roy said with a grin. He coughed, shoving his hands in his pockets again. “And since you said we look like brothers, and, well, if you ever did want to drop by, if any of the neighbours wondered why we look so alike… I was thinking…”

 

“C’mon, you already know everything else,” Will said, punching Roy casually on the arm. “Of course I’d be cool with being legally your brother. You’d better be planning on making you and Jade my legal guardians until I’m eighteen. Unless you’re gonna mess with the paperwork to make me eighteen already, since technically I  _ am _ twenty-two.”

 

“And technically I’m seven, but nobody’s gonna buy that any more than they’re gonna buy that you’re twenty-two,” Roy said, chucking his arm right back. “I’ll make you eighteen, but that doesn’t get you out of calling or dropping by if you ever need anything, okay? Unless it’s guns. Knives, throwing stars and bows, I’m willing to hide in high places in case assassins happen, but not guns.”

 

“I’m think I’m good,” Will said, nodding towards the bedroom-armoury. “Might come hide out at yours if Ollie starts stalking me again.”

 

“Yeah, I’ll talk to him… no, actually, I’ll talk to Dinah, and  _ she  _ can talk to him,” Roy decided.

 

“Thanks,” Will said, leaning back against the counter. “For… being you.”

 

Roy looked like he didn’t really know what to say to that, but was saved having to say anything by his phone buzzing in his pocket. “Why the hell can’t Dick every phone anybody during daylight like a normal person?” he grumbled, picking up the phone. “What do you want?” he said bluntly. “You know we do. Like you don’t have my address down on bat-file somewhere, probably. Why?” He stiffened, scowling angrily at whatever Dick said. “What the hell are you implying?” he demanded angrily. “I don’t know any goddamn dealers in Bludhaven--” He cut off abruptly, frowning but slowly leeching tension. “Fine. Because I’m  _ not _ , got it? Not now I’ve got Lian. Jade’d carve me up if I did, anyway.” He fell quiet for a minute, his frown turning thoughtful. “Yeah, I’ve heard of him… why would I? I have a job and a toddler these days, I don’t have  _ time _ for vigilante shit when the world isn’t ending… no, I don’t know, I don’t  _ care _ . Why would I? Crime in Bludhaven’s gone  _ down _ since he took over the drug trade and he hasn’t shot anybody except drug dealers--” He paused, raising an eyebrow. “Beheaded. Whatever. A little extra, but guess who cares? Not me. Do your own damn investigation, detective.” He pocketed his phone again with a scowl.

 

“He called you at eleven at night to ask questions about some drug dealer he’s investigating?” Will asked, folding his arms with a sigh. “Y’know, when I first met Robin, I wondered how that kid could be  _ Batman’s _ sidekick when they were so  _ different. _ Guess  _ that _ didn’t last.” Not that he really had a problem with that. Nightwing being completely different from the Robin he’d known years ago made it easier for him to think of them as different people. Robin had been a weird kid, but a good kid. Nightwing was an asshole. No troubling emotional obligations there.

 

“It lasted up until about when Jason died,” Roy said, scratching the back of his neck, which was a whole new level of discomfort behaviour. “He was never quite the same after that.” He glanced over at the bed set out under the window. “Anyway… I should probably let you go back to sleep and zeta back to Bludhaven. I’ve got a shift in an hour.”

 

“I was just taking a nap,” Will said, side-eyeing the mattress on the floor. “Gonna go on patrol tonight. I’ve got my own drug dealers to deal with, the kind that still have heads.” He opened the fridge, pulled out one of the boxes and stuck it in the microwave. “You gonna want these  boxes back?” he asked as he set the time.

 

“Keep ‘em,” Roy said over his shoulder on the way to the door. “Or bring them back and we’ll fill them with food again. I can practice any new recipes I pick up on you to make sure I’m not gonna poison Lian.”

 

“Say hi to her and Jade for me,” Will said, following him so he could disable the security and unlock the door. “Hey, does that make me Lian’s uncle?”

 

“Sure,” Roy said, chucking Will on the shoulder on his way out. “Happy hunting, Will.”

 

“See ya, Roy,” Will said, closing the door and re-engaging the security. 

 

Even reheated, the tortillas were  _ really  _ good, packed with all of his favourite fillings. He was willing to give up his superhero identity, his trademark weapon, his old friends, his foster family even his  _ name _ to start over, but tortillas, he decided, could be pried from his cold, dead hands.

 

Besides, it meant Luthor hadn’t taken  _ everything _ from him, which meant he was starting the night out on a win.

**Author's Note:**

> I know Red Arrow didn’t have a subplot about being addicted to heroin in the show like he did in the comics, but the way they did scene where Dick, Wally, Dinah and Oliver came to talk to Red Arrow about his self-destructive obsession with finding the original Roy… it was blatantly an intervention, and everything about Red Arrow’s appearance and behaviour was clearly meant to be indicative of drug addiction. So I threw in a reference to Roy having been on drugs at some stage when he’s talking on the phone to Dick about Red Hood. I really want Red Hood to show up in season 3, not least because I think he and Arsenal would really click. I’ve thought that since before finding out that Jason and Roy were a pretty iconic duo in the comics.
> 
> But if I’m honest, this whole oneshot probably mostly came out of writing a fic where a lot of characters have the same name and realizing that it gets annoying fast. I went with William because I read somewhere that it’s Roy’s middle name, so it’s probably a slightly easier switch and also you can’t tell me that boy didn’t try and succeed at the apple trick as a kid.


End file.
